The trick is to recognize when the flyer will usually "have" to go and put them in a specific corner of their cage at that time. You'll find, in most cases, that flyers will pick a specific place in their cage for a latrine. You'll also find most flyers wake up, spend perhaps a half hour or more in a "daydreaming" stage, then a half hour or so grooming, then they will be ready for some activity. At their first rest, they will often tend to nature's call. It's often within just 5 minutes of playtime. If you can watch for that, and put them back in their cage in the latrine area, they often get the idea rather quickly to use only that place for relieving themselves. That said, flyer poop is seldom a problem -- and flyer pee usually isn't either -- they don't pee buckets, just a thimble full, so it's usually fairly easy to maintain a neat home, even with a flyer that has plenty of free range time.

Initially, they often can't decide which part of the cage they liked
best and use all of it. If you catch them peeing where you don't want, a stern "no" will often stop them. Redirect him to the spot you want used and reward with a pecan bit for using it. If he goes in the wrong spot, scoot him off it, give a "no," and move to your spot of choice. Then give a pecan piece. Give *LOTS* of praise along with the pecan to let him know he did a good job. Many will get the hint after a couple of days. WATCH OUT that you aren't conned out of a pecan piece by *pretending* to go potty on your chosen spot. LOL.

Before you go anywhere with him, stick him up to his spot and tell
him to go. After that, give a sip of water and he'll hang out with you the rest of the day. If he gets restless take him to his spot to see if he has to go again. Usually they can hold it till night fall ... or until you get back home after trips during the day. They may still has accidents, but they can be very minimal to nothing compared to one untrained.

Last edited by Joan on Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Joan, you make it sound soooo easy! LOL I have never had much luck training anything. Maybe I'm not persistent enough. I know squirrels (flyers and greys) are very smart but it seems they have a mind of their own (at least the greys do). Thanks for your tips though. Vicky

i got my babies 2 days ago and i started training them yesterday and i was so surprised how smart they are they both know where to go now and they acting kinda funny when they have to go so i just put them in the place i want them to go wala.. both of them are still small right now i will guess somewhere around 5 wks old here is how i do it I feed them same time everyday when they first wake up they have to go after eating about 30 mins they have to go again if you play w/ them for 10 mins, they have to go after 2 times, when i put them in the potty box, they will stay and try so i guess it is easier when you start training them early or i am just VERY LUCKY to have 2 smart babies..

Has anyone tried the little hamster / gerbil potties that they sell at pet stores? Does having a specific place to go help them? Cause Trixie is going all over her cage. She's even learned how to poo on the wires of her cage, by hanging on the side and going. Rather weird, and scared me half to death the first time I found it

shylo likes to pee on me every time i put her in my shirt. to discourage her, i've used a sharp (but not too scary!) no! today, she stopped mid-pee and looked at me, like oh no! i put her in her litter box, a shoe box top with newspaper, and she sat there, looking confused. finally, (this is kinda gross) i decided that i would let her know what i wanted, so i rubbed my finger on the little bit of pee that was on me (it was still wet... yuck) and put that up to her nose and on the newspaper. she went instantly! i don't know if that was lucky, or if she actually got the point, but it was an immediate response. she got a pecan bit, and seemed pleased with herself... we'll try again tomorrow.

- alyssa -

- HOF to shylo... my pretty squirrel girl -

- in loving memory of batman, the best little princess i could have ever asked for -

The potties that I've seen with litter say that they are safe (including the litter).

The makers of that stuff are marketing to rodent owners- they have to know that rodents eat and gnaw anything in sight.

I'm sure he'll be fine. I hope you are fortunate enough to potty train one. My little darling seems to save all his pee and poop for me each night. It's like when I let him out of the cage he jumps on me and lets loose.... sheesh!

Can I still train Kobie to be potty trained I know It's kinda late but if feel like Owen Wilson in Marley & Me when I take her out and she starts going wee wee and poo poo LOL.

Do they really understand you and can you really train them when there young like that because when she's out and she wants something she just won't leave It alone. I need to try to retrain her and besides I have the little one coming so I need to learn how.

I know this is an old thread, but a bit of advice to anyone who's looking on it for tips and tricks, I found that putting a "dog or pet waterproof cargo liner" down on the floor around the cage catches all the pee marvelously. They are large and designed to fit a whole car bed, so they catch all the pee in all directions around an average-sized cage. It is also machine washable so if it smells or gets dirty, I can just throw it in the wash! It only looks like I have a space rug on the floor, but it is great as a double-duty pee catcher to save your carpets and control smells!